WUGI
AXS Esoterica NextG Economy ETF
Fund Overview
Next generation or "NextG" technologies are advancing our global digital economy and transforming our world.
Investors have an opportunity to tap into the potential growth of companies creating or enabled by fifth generation ("5G") digital cellular network technology as well as other emerging NextG technologies.
AXS Esoterica NextG Economy ETF (WUGI) is an actively managed ETF that invests in stocks of companies that may benefit from the ever-evolving digital economy. The Fund seeks capital appreciation and can be a core source of growth for portfolios.
Investor Benefits
Invests in companies from four NextG-enabled areas: semiconductors, edge computing, cloud-native software and enabling technologies.
Provides broad exposure to equities of US and non-US companies of any market capitalization.
Esoterica’s experienced managers select high-conviction investments it believes are attractively valued and well-positioned to benefit from adopting NextG technology.
Fund Details
Exchange: Cboe BZX
Ticker: WUGI
CUSIP: 46144X495
Inception Date: 3/30/2020
Distribution Frequency: Annual
Management Fee: 0.75%
Gross Expense Ratio: 1.23%
Net Expense Ratio*: 0.75%
* Net expense ratio reflects contractual fee waivers in effect for a period of two years from December 16, 2022, the date of the reorganization of the ETF.
Portfolio Manager
Esoterica Capital LLC manages the portfolio of the AXS Esoterica NextG Economy ETF (WUGI) and originally launched the ETF in 2020. Esoterica provides investment services for individual and institutional investors. Led by CEO Bruce Liu, the Esoterica equity research team based in the U.S. and China specializes in investments related to the digital economy and particularly the emerging opportunities in the NextG economy. Mr. Liu was formerly a portfolio manager and partner of PhaseCapital, equity strategist at WisdomTree Asset Management and sell-side equity strategist at Sanford Bernstein.
Qindong (Bruce) Liu Ph.D., CFA
CEO, Esoterica Capital LLC
Fund News
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the ticker for AXS Esoterica NextG Economy ETF?
WUGI (pronounced “wu-jee”).
What exchange is WUGI traded on?
The Cboe BZX exchange.
What is the fund’s investment objective?
The fund seeks capital appreciation.
Does WUGI track an index?
No. It is an actively traded ETF. The portfolio holds approximately 30 equities. View current holdings here.
What is "NextG" technology?
Major cycles of technological advancement are characterized as generations. Currently the next generation revolves around "5G," which refers to the fifth-generation technology standard for broadband cellular networks. It is a newer cloud computing architecture that optimizes the benefits of faster speeds, lower latency and more capacity to process vast quantities of data in real-time. It enables all sorts of technologies such as streaming, smart homes, smart factories, remote healthcare, autonomous vehicles, virtual reality and applications that have yet to be created. WUGI intends to evolve its investment criteria as newer generations of technology emerge.
What types of companies are considered for WUGI?
The portfolio manager considers companies that benefit from the development of new products or services, technological improvements, and advancements in scientific research related to NextG (currently 5G) networks, which come from three groups:
- Infrastructure: The company’s business activities benefit from the development of the 5G communication infrastructure network, including core network, transmission, radio access network or cloud computing infrastructure.
- Edge Devices: The company provides devices that connect an internal local area network with an external wide area network or the Internet.
- Services: Companies whose services are enabled by the proliferation of 5G infrastructure with a wide range of possible applications such as video streaming, cloud gaming, autonomous driving, augmented reality, virtual reality, Internet of Things and remote surgery.
Why is 5G a potential investment opportunity?
We believe 5G will empower the next generation of technology giving rise to a truly global digital economy. We also believe that the most value creation is not only with the telecommunications carriers but with the transformative technologies that are creating a new generation of semiconductors that power 5G. Whereas 4G was largely U.S. focused, 5G adoption will be global from the outset, with the U.S. and Asia leading the 5G race.
How does WUGI capture NextG opportunities?
WUGI invests in companies that are exposed to, and benefit from advanced silicon architecture and manufacturing, convergence of 5G wireless network and cloud computing, a new software stack that addresses the exponential growth of data, and enabling technologies across a range of verticals. In its analysis, Esoterica applies both ‘‘top down’’ (thematic research sizing the potential total available market and changes in the underlying technological cycle) and ‘‘bottom up’’ (valuation, fundamental and quantitative measures) approaches. The portfolio management team utilizes insights from diverse sources, including external research, to develop and refine its investment themes and identify and take advantage of trends that it believes have ramifications for individual companies or entire industries.
The Fund will commence operations and acquire the assets and liabilities of the Esoterica NextG Economy ETF (the "Predecessor Fund"), following the reorganization of the Predecessor Fund, which is expected to occur on December 16, 2022. As a result of the reorganization, the Fund will be the accounting successor of the Predecessor Fund. Performance results shown reflect the performance of the Predecessor Fund, which operated as an ETF, prior to the reorganization into the Fund on December 16, 2022.
Important Risk Information
You could lose money by investing in the Fund. There can be no assurance that the Fund’s investment objectives will be achieved.
Market and Equity Risk: The market price of an equity security may decline due to market conditions not specifically related to a particular company, such as real or perceived adverse economic or political conditions, or factors that affect a particular industry. 5G and Emerging Technologies Investment Risk: The revenues of the companies held by the Fund are generally expected to be significantly tied to 5G technologies, and the extent of the technologies’ versatility has not yet been fully explored. Currently, there are few public companies for which 5G technologies represent significant revenue, and such technologies may not ultimately have a material effect on the economic returns of companies in which the Fund invests. Active Management Risk: The Fund is actively managed and there is no guarantee that the Fund’s investment views will produce the desired results, which may cause the Fund to underperform its benchmark index. Concentration Risk: To the extent the Fund’s investments are concentrated in a particular group of industries, including computer software, Internet and semiconductors, the Fund may be susceptible to loss due to adverse occurrences affecting that industry or group of industries.
The Fund is an ETF, and, as a result of an ETF’s structure, it is exposed to the following risks: shares not being individually redeemable, cash transaction risk, fluctuation of net asset value risk, market maker risk, costs of buying or selling shares, trading issues risk. Please see the prospectus for more information about these risks.
Shares of ETFs are bought and sold at market price (not NAV) and are not individually redeemed from the ETF. Brokerage commissions will reduce returns. NAVs are calculated using prices as of 4:00 PM Eastern Time. The closing price is the midpoint between the bid and ask price as of the close of exchange. Closing price returns do not represent the returns you would receive if you traded shares at other times.